Living-Learning Programs Through the Years: A Reflection on Partnerships Between Students, Faculty, and Student Affairs

LIVING-LEARNING PROGRAMS (LLPs), also known as learning communities, offer students a shared academic focus within a residential community; thus, LLPs are considered ideal contexts for student learning. In 1994, Zeller highlighted Washington State University as an example of how learning communities can successfully incorporate faculty, students, and student affairs practitioners/departments into collaborative learning environments. This study provides an overview of changes that have occurred in the creation and implementation of LLPs during the past two decades. Using the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a case study, this paper illustrates the growth and adaptation of LLPs over the years. Implications and innovations for practice and research are also offered for application to other institutions

Gaussian Processes for Time Series with Lead-Lag Effects with applications to biology data

Investigating the relationship, particularly the lead-lag effect, between time series is a common question across various disciplines, especially when uncovering biological process. However, analyzing time series presents several challenges. Firstly, due to technical reasons, the time points at which observations are made are not at uniform inintervals. Secondly, some lead-lag effects are transient, necessitating time-lag estimation based on a limited number of time points. Thirdly, external factors also impact these time series, requiring a similarity metric to assess the lead-lag relationship. To counter these issues, we introduce a model grounded in the Gaussian process, affording the flexibility to estimate lead-lag effects for irregular time series. In addition, our method outputs dissimilarity scores, thereby broadening its applications to include tasks such as ranking or clustering multiple pair-wise time series when considering their strength of lead-lag effects with external factors. Crucially, we offer a series of theoretical proofs to substantiate the validity of our proposed kernels and the identifiability of kernel parameters. Our model demonstrates advances in various simulations and real-world applications, particularly in the study of dynamic chromatin interactions, compared to other leading methods

Breakfast consumption trends among young Australian children aged up to 5 years: results from InFANT program

Breakfast is considered a healthy dietary habit which can track over time from childhood to adulthood. The breakfast meal has the potential to improve daily dietary quality, particularly if it includes a range of food groups and adequate nutrient intakes. However, research on breakfast consumption trends among young Australian children aged up to 5 years is currently limited. This study assessed children’s usual breakfast food group and nutrient intakes at ages 1.5 (n = 369), 3.5 (n = 242), and 5.0 (n =240) years using three 24-hour dietary recalls from the Melbourne InFANT program. Tracking of food groups at breakfast across the three ages was assessed by Pearson correlation of energy-adjusted food intake residuals. The main food groups consumed at breakfast were grains, milk/alternatives and discretionary items, with vegetables rarely consumed at any age. Our study found that while breakfast contributed about 20% of total daily energy, this provided 20%-29.1% of total daily intake across all ages for carbohydrates, total sugars, calcium and potassium. For the contribution to daily recommendations, breakfast contributed more than about a third of daily recommended intakes for some micronutrients (e.g., iron, calcium and zinc), and a large proportion (over 40%) of sodium intake. Children consumed 11.9% -15.2% of their energy at breakfast from saturated fat, which is higher than the recommended total energy contribution of saturated fat (no more than 10% from saturated fat). For tracking of most food groups and nutrients, tracking was found to be low or moderate over time. Given the contribution that breakfast can make to ensure children achieve their daily dietary intakes, early interventions for young Australian children should focus on practical strategies to increase vegetable intake while reducing sodium and saturated fat intake at breakfast

Management of Swallowing Disorders: A Program for Professionals Working in Rural Areas

Research indicates that 74% of all nursing home patients experience eating difficulties sometime during their stay (Trupe, Siebens, & Siebens, 1984). Additionally, 59% of patients suffering from stroke experience some degree of dysphagia and aspiration difficulties (Echelard, Thoppil, & Melvin 1984). A significant number of the high risk dysphagia patients described above suffer from life threatening aspiration pneumonia. Consequently the management of swallowing disorders (Dysphagia) is of critical concern to hospital and nursing home personnel. Patients specficially at risk for dysphagia, according to recent studies, include those with head injury, stroke (CVA), and cerebral palsy. Also, patients experiencing cancer of the swallowing structures, diseases or disorders of the cranial nerves, and other neurological dysfuctions have been identified to be at increased risk. In rural areas, however, sophisticated diagnostic equipment that would facilitate dysphagia diagnosis is often unavailable. In addition, rural hospital and nursing home personnel (occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech pathologists and registered nurses) are often in a position to identify early signs of dysphagia but may not be trained in dysphagia identification or treatment. Consequently, it is imperative for these care providers to learn the screening skills necessary to identify dysphagia. When patients are identified as having, or being at an increased risk for, swallowing disorders are are treated accordingly, additional problems resulting from undiagnosed dysphagia may be prevented

Building America Best Practices Series, Volume 6: High-Performance Home Technologies: Solar Thermal & Photovoltaic Systems

This guide is was written by PNNL for the US Department of Energy's Building America program to provide information for residential production builders interested in building near zero energy homes. The guide provides indepth descriptions of various roof-top photovoltaic power generating systems for homes. The guide also provides extensive information on various designs of solar thermal water heating systems for homes. The guide also provides construction company owners and managers with an understanding of how solar technologies can be added to their homes in a way that is cost effective, practical, and marketable. Twelve case studies provide examples of production builders across the United States who are building energy-efficient homes with photovoltaic or solar water heating systems

Success stories and emerging themes in conservation physiology

The potential benefits of physiology for conservation are well established and include greater specificity of management techniques, determination of cause–effect relationships, increased sensitivity of health and disturbance monitoring and greater capacity for predicting future change. While descriptions of the specific avenues in which conservation and physiology can be integrated are readily available and important to the continuing expansion of the discipline of ‘conservation physiology’, to date there has been no assessment of how the field has specifically contributed to conservation success. However, the goal of conservation physiology is to foster conservation solutions and it is therefore important to assess whether physiological approaches contribute to downstream conservation outcomes and management decisions. Here, we present eight areas of conservation concern, ranging from chemical contamination to invasive species to ecotourism, where physiological approaches have led to beneficial changes in human behaviour, management or policy. We also discuss the shared characteristics of these successes, identifying emerging themes in the discipline. Specifically, we conclude that conservation physiology: (i) goes beyond documenting change to provide solutions; (ii) offers a diversity of physiological metrics beyond glucocorticoids (stress hormones); (iii) includes approaches that are transferable among species, locations and times; (iv) simultaneously allows for human use and benefits to wildlife; and (v) is characterized by successes that can be difficult to find in the primary literature. Overall, we submit that the field of conservation physiology has a strong foundation of achievements characterized by a diversity of conservation issues, taxa, physiological traits, ecosystem types and spatial scales. We hope that these concrete successes will encourage the continued evolution and use of physiological tools within conservation-based research and management plans."This work was supported by the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology; the University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada; Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada; and the Canadian Society of Zoologists. C.L.M. was supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada PGS-D (427552). S.J.C. and O.P.L. are supported by the Canada Research Chairs program. E.J.C. was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (BCS-1134687). K.R.H. was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation’s MacroSystems Biology program (award no. 1340856) and the US Department of Agriculture (NRI 2015-67013-23138). J.R.R. was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (EF-1241889), National Institutes of Health (R01GM109499, R01TW010286), US Department of Agriculture (NRI 2006-01370, 2009-35102-0543) and US Environmental Protection Agency (CAREER 83518801)."https://academic.oup.com/conphys/article/4/1/cov057/295129

Success stories and emerging themes in conservation physiology

The potential benefits of physiology for conservation are well established and include greater specificity of management techniques, determination of cause-effect relationships, increased sensitivity of health and disturbance monitoring and greater capacity for predicting future change. While descriptions of the specific avenues in which conservation and physiology can be integrated are readily available and important to the continuing expansion of the discipline of \u27conservation physiology\u27, to date there has been no assessment of how the field has specifically contributed to conservation success. However, the goal of conservation physiology is to foster conservation solutions and it is therefore important to assess whether physiological approaches contribute to downstream conservation outcomes and management decisions. Here, we present eight areas of conservation concern, ranging from chemical contamination to invasive species to ecotourism, where physiological approaches have led to beneficial changes in human behaviour, management or policy. We also discuss the shared characteristics of these successes, identifying emerging themes in the discipline. Specifically, we conclude that conservation physiology: (i) goes beyond documenting change to provide solutions; (ii) offers a diversity of physiological metrics beyond glucocorticoids (stress hormones); (iii) includes approaches that are transferable among species, locations and times; (iv) simultaneously allows for human use and benefits to wildlife; and (v) is characterized by successes that can be difficult to find in the primary literature. Overall, we submit that the field of conservation physiology has a strong foundation of achievements characterized by a diversity of conservation issues, taxa, physiological traits, ecosystem types and spatial scales. We hope that these concrete successes will encourage the continued evolution and use of physiological tools within conservation-based research and management plans

Case Report Cardiac Gated Computed Tomography Used to Confirm Iatrogenic Aortic Valve Leaflet Perforation after Mitral Valve Replacement

Aortic insufficiency from iatrogenic valve perforation from nonaortic valve operations is rarely reported despite the prevalence of these procedures. Rapid diagnosis of these defects is essential to prevent deterioration of cardiac function. In this paper, we describe a young man who reported to our institution after two open cardiac surgeries with new aortic regurgitation found to be due to an iatrogenic perforation of his noncoronary aortic valve cusp. This defect was not appreciated by previous intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography and was inadequately visualized on follow-up transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiograms. In contrast, cardiac gated computed tomography clearly visualized the defect and its surrounding structures. This case highlights the utility of cardiac gated computed tomography for cases of suspected valvular perforation when echocardiography is not readily available or inadequate imaging is obtained

One hundred research questions in conservation physiology for generating actionable evidence to inform conservation policy and practice

Environmental change and biodiversity loss are but two of the complex challenges facing conservation practitioners and policy makers. Relevant and robust scientific knowledge is critical for providing decision-makers with the actionable evidence needed to inform conservation decisions. In the Anthropocene, science that leads to meaningful improvements in biodiversity conservation, restoration and management is desperately needed. Conservation Physiology has emerged as a discipline that is well-positioned to identify the mechanisms underpinning population declines, predict responses to environmental change and test different in situ and ex situ conservation interventions for diverse taxa and ecosystems. Here we present a consensus list of 10 priority research themes. Within each theme we identify specific research questions (100 in total), answers to which will address conservation problems and should improve the management of biological resources. The themes frame a set of research questions related to the following: (i) adaptation and phenotypic plasticity; (ii) human-induced environmental change; (iii) human-wildlife interactions; (iv) invasive species; (v) methods, biomarkers and monitoring; (vi) policy, engagement and communication; (vii) pollution; (viii) restoration actions; (ix) threatened species; and (x) urban systems. The themes and questions will hopefully guide and inspire researchers while also helping to demonstrate to practitioners and policy makers the many ways in which physiology can help to support their decisions